We love hand print crafts! There's just something about preserving the pudgy little fingers of your kiddos to be pulled out later for a bit of fun and reminiscing. Teachers, if you're looking for a cute Valentine's Day gift to send home to parents or, parents, if you're looking for something fun to do with your kiddos to send to grandparents, here's a sweet craft that's simple and festive! Materials sheets of craft foam pen craft scissors craft glue festive scrapbook paper heart...
This penguin valentine is super cute, right!? Not only is it cute, it's also pretty simple to put together! We love that (apart from the base) the penguin is crafted from heart shapes, and paired with the cutesy play on words, these penguins make fantastic homemade valentines. Materials black, white, orange, red, and pink construction paper pen craft scissors craft glue wiggle eyes Crafting the Penguin Fold both the black and white pieces of construction paper in half, 'hot dog...
If you're looking for a way to help your kiddos corral their valentines and party goodies this Valentine's Day (and you're over the traditional shoe box holder), check out this awesome DIY milk jug card holder created by Christina, elementary teacher and creator of Bunting, Books, and Bright Ideas! It's simple, inexpensive, and a great way to show your kiddos that 'trash' really can be turned into something useful! Materials recycled milk jug scissors permanent markers Valentine's Day...
Fun and simple to create, this cute owl valentine craft is sure to be a hit with your crafty kiddos! Materials dessert sized paper plate red, pink, and orange construction paper craft scissors wiggle eyes craft glue black marker Creating the Valentine Create a large heart from red construction paper, cutting the heart shape in half and gluing the halves to the sides of the paper plate to create the owl's 'wings'. Cut a medium-sized heart from red construction paper as well as a...
Looking for a Valentine's Day craft with a little more meaning? This beautiful heart mobile from Almost Unschoolers is a great way to move beyond the superficial heart and candy, viewing the holiday as an opportunity to talk to your kiddos about God's love and how He calls us to love others. The project centers around I Corinthians 13: 4-8 and the picture of what true love is supposed to look like; 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It...
What do you get when you mix a little color theory with Valentine's Day? This super fun heart collage craft that we found over at What the Teacher Wants! Primary vs. secondary colors. Color mixing. Fine motor skills. Following directions. These are just a few of the concepts/skills your kiddos will strengthen through this fun craftivity! The concept is simple... Provided with the template {shown below} and colored paper, students are invited to tear the paper into pieces and glue it to the...
Combining an adorable Valentine's Day craft with a cutesy play on words, this bulletin board designed by Lisa, kindergarten teacher and talented designer behind Lisa's Little Graphics, is a great option if you're looking for something quick and festive this week! Lovely Ladybugs "SPOTTED" in Kindergarten! - Background: Use green or blue background paper if you're going for a more 'realistic' approach to the design - i.e. grass, sky, etc. Use purple or pink bulletin board paper if you want...
Today is Presidents' Day and we thought these cute paper plate masks from Preschool Crafts for Kids could be a fun way to incorporate a little crafting into your learning! Materials paper plate black and royal blue construction paper black paint sponge pieces yellow craft yarn cotton balls craft stick craft glue tape craft scissors Crafting the Mask Start by cutting out the center of the paper plate, being sure to leave the full rim of the plate intact. Younger children will...
If you're on the hunt for some last minute Presidents' Day inspiration, Jodi over at Fun in First Grade has some super fun and simple lesson ideas that won't take too much prep work! Focusing on two of the greats - George Washington and Abraham Lincoln - Jodi combines literature, writing, and crafting to get her kiddos excited and engaged... Learning About George Washington To begin, Jodi 'introduces' our nation's first president with several reading selections. After reading the...
Debbie over a Rainbows Within Reach is always finding the coolest projects, lessons, and bulletin board ideas! If we're ever lacking for inspiration, her blog has become a fast favorite! Naturally, our search for fun Dr. Seuss themed projects had us skipping over to check it out! My Favorite Suess Book... While Read Across America Week does focus on literacy, there are also loads of opportunities for learning accros different subjects! Check out this fun graphing activity! After reading...
Cheryl over at Teach Kids Art featured several ideas for handprint and footprint art projects that were just too cute to pass up! Perfect for an early childhood classroom! And with ideas spanning winter to fall, you're sure to find an idea you can implement in your class any time of year. Check out these super cute ideas (seasonal ideas shown above): Adorable Angels Valentine's Day Heart Smiley Sun Fantastic Flowers If you're on the hunt for art project ideas for your class, be sure to...
Check out this amazing FREE printable Christmas pack from Cat over at Mary Martha Mama! Containing 28 pages and 13 fun activities - it's a veritable gold mine of festive learning activities that your kiddos are sure to enjoy! You'll have to visit Cat's blog for the download, but here's a teaser list of the skills/activities you'll find inside: - Letter tracing practice - Scissor skills - Fine motor lacing cards - Prewriting line tracing - Word puzzles - Letter block spelling - Memory...
Winter just wouldn't be the same without at least one snowflake art project! Check out this gorgeous salt + watercolor snowflakes project put together by Kathy Barbro over at Art Projects for Kids! We love the colors, their miniature size, and that you can change the design by simply changing the order of the grouping! Materials watercolor paper cut into 2.5" x 3.5" cards liquid watercolor paints kids paint brushes salt white card stock 3" snowflake punch Creating the Snowflake Cards...
We love this festive holiday bulletin board created by the teachers at McKinley Early Childhood Center! Aren't the candies super cute?! Candy canes, gingerbread boys/girls, and wrapped candies are the perfect recipe for a sweet Christmas design! Candy Cane Crafts The original board features simple red and white construction paper candy canes. If you want to spice it up a bit or have your kiddos work with different art mediums, you might consider one of these fun projects; - Scrunched...
Nothing screams Christmas like stockings hung by the fireplace! Here's another simple display created by the teachers at McKinley Early Childhood Center that would make a great addition to your holiday decorating plans! Your kiddos are sure to have a great time creating the stockings and candy canes and, when they're finished, you'll have the makings of a great display! Candy Cane Craft - Provide your kiddos with a candy cane shape cut from white card stock. - Armed with craft glue and red...
Do you have a 'go to' parent gift for your students to make during the holidays? If you don't, or if you simply want to try something new this year, check out these awesome paint brush ornaments created by Lori over at Mud Pie Studio! Super cute, right?! Materials inexpensive paint brushes from the hardware store painter's tape acrylic paint in assorted colors foam kids paint brushes spray paint in assorted colors paint pens in assorted colors craft embellishments low temp glue gun...
How stinkin' cute is this tin can snowman craft?!? Jamie over at Hands On As We Grow completed the craft with her adorable boys and hung it outside as a wind chime. The craft is perfect for heading into winter and only requires a few supplies. For a complete tutorial and supply list for crafting the snowman, be sure to check out Hands On As We Grow!
We were browsing the web looking for cute snowman crafts this winter and came across this adorable idea featured by Rachel at I Heart Crafty Things. Too cute not to share and we love that the craft includes an opportunity for your kiddos to practice their lacing skills! You probably already have most of the supplies that you'll need on hand, so head over to Rachel's blog for a full tutorial on how to complete the super cute snowman!
We love a good winter penguin unit and were thrilled to stumble across these fabulous activity ideas shared by Mrs. Ryder over at Literacy and Laughter! By the time they're done, your kiddos are sure to be penguin experts! Schema Anchor Chart Before beginning the unit, discuss with your kiddos what they already know about penguins and record it on your anchor chart. From there, as they learn new facts and information, update the chart to reflect their new learning. Penguin Tree Map Along...
Michelle over at Apples and ABC's put together this super cute lesson idea that pairs alliteration with an adorable snowman craft! After studying various examples of alliteration, have your kiddos try their hand at crafting their own winter poem about snowmen. For younger writers, you might brainstorm adjectives, verbs, etc. that start with "S". Older writers can work in pairs or individually. Here are some cute examples from Michelle's fourth graders; After writing their poems, they can...
Nothing screams winter like snowmen and mittens! We were drawn to these colorful activites that we found over at Under the Alphabet Tree and hope they inspire you as well! All About Snowmen Mrs. G and her kiddos spent some time reading up on snowmen, then watched the animated adventure, "The Snowman", following the story of a young boy who makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, only for it to come to life that night and take him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus!...
While the holidays are over, we still thought we'd share this adorable snowman ornament craft that we found over at A Cupcake for the Teacher in the event you keep an inspiration folder for next year because it makes an awesome parent gift! Materials clear plastic ornaments iridescent decorating shred orange and black Sharpie paint pens chenille stems in assorted colors pom poms in assorted colors low temp glue gun winter gift bags ribbon gift tag Creating the Ornament We recommend...
Presidents' Day is Monday, February 15th and, if you're already planning ahead, you might consider adding this fun lesson/craft that we found over at Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons to your lesson plans! Abraham Lincoln Writing Craftivity KWLs are great for helping your students organize their knowledge and learning. As you introduce and learn about the topic of Abraham Lincoln, here's an awesome freebie for your kiddos to use! [You can find the download below] With their learning...
President's Day is right around the corner and, if you could use some activity ideas, we thought this lesson plan from Jodi over at Fun in First Grade might provide some inspiration! Good 'Ol George! 1. READ. 2. ORGANIZE YOUR LEARNING. 3. WRITE ABOUT IT! Good 'Ol Abe! 1. READ. 2. ORGANIZE YOUR LEARNING. *Don't miss the fun FREEbie! 3. WRITE ABOUT IT! 4. CRAFT! What we like about these activities is that they're simple (so they can be put together in a relatively short amount of...
We found these awesome recycled cereal box valentine holders over at Almost Unschoolers and thought they'd be the perfect solution for this year's Valentine's Day party! They're made to fit on the backs of students' chairs which leaves their desktops clear for other activities and they're made from recycled material so the project provides a great opportunity for a mini-lesson on repurposing items that you'd typically throw away! Materials recycled cereal box craft scissors pencil ruler...
We love pairing writing activities with crafts! A little work with a little play; makes for a good balance. Not to mention, the finished products usually make for an awesome classroom display! In search of winter writing prompts, we stumbled across this adorable snow globe writing craftivity shared by Molly over at Lessons with Laughter and thought it would make a fantastic addition to your winter lesson plans! Snow Globe Craft The snow globes look daunting, but are actually quite simple to...
While it is the week of Valentine's Day, it's also still winter, so if you're looking for a simple winter craft to do with your kiddos, check out this fun sock snowman craft we found over at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits! Reagan had her kiddos do this craft before Christmas break using the finished snowmen as gifts for their parents, but we think it could also make a cute project for your crafters to work on after the holiday! Materials men's white tube socks rice quilt batting craft felt...
Lindsy over at Preschool Alphabet put together this great list of shamrock themed activities for St. Patrick's Day and, if you're looking for some holiday inspiration, we suggest checking it out! Eight activities in all, we're sure you'll find something great to try with your kiddos. While you'll have to visit the full post for all of Lindsy's suggestions, here's a peek at our three favorite lesson ideas... Grow Your Own Shamrocks. Did you know that Target carries shamrock clover kits in...
This craft from Linda over at Little Family Fun is super simple and appeals to crafters of all ages! Materials shamrock template green and white construction paper craft scissors craft glue marker Creating the Shamrock Man 1. Start with the green construction paper. Use the shamrock template to cut a shamrock shape from the paper. Additionally, cut 4 small circles from the green paper. 2. Next, cut two short and two long strips from the white construction paper. Fold each of the...
Sharon Riggs, first grade teacher at Uniontown Elementary School, had her students read the book "Snowmen at Night" by Caralyn Buehner. They were then asked to write about what their snowmen would do at night and draw a picture that represents their answer. We think the display turned out great! Sharon is our 'Featured Teacher' of the month! Sharon started out her career as a social worker for 10 years, then went back to college to become a teacher. She has been teaching at Uniontown...
